


October Meetings

by Rangerskirt



Series: Some Wear Suits [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Awkward cute kid Connor, But not Connor since he's a kid, Connor whump, Dog death(Not Sumo), Drama, Drugs, Family, Gavin's an asshole to Hank, Gen, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Happy Ending, Human!Connor, Hurt/Comfort, It's brief and it made me really sad to write, Minor Character Deaths, Not beta'd we die like men, Referenced Child Abuse, Sumo is a good dog, kid!Connor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 05:25:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15066107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangerskirt/pseuds/Rangerskirt
Summary: Hank is woken up from his drunken slumber to investigate a murder scene, one that leaves a poor kid with nowhere to go and the only live witness. Connor takes a quick liking to both Sumo and Hank, as much as Hank doesn't like to admit it he likes the kid too.------In which Hank is forced to look after an odd kid during an investigation, it goes as well as he expects. Between his and Connor's problems maybe two negatives can become a positive out of the situation.





	October Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:  
> -I don't know how real crime scenes work so I tried my best.  
> -WARNING: Early story there is a mentioned dog death, it's glossed over pretty quickly. (I'm sensitive to animal deaths in stories so I want others to know it happens just in case)

-Detroit, MI - 2:38am Thurs October 14th, 2038-

He was late to a crime scene, again, but this time Hank was sure he'd get shit for it. Not just a petty crime he was late to check out, no this time it was a full blown homicide with drugs in the mix just to spice things up. He'd only listened to half of the last message left on his phone before rushing out his front door into the night over to the scene.

Truth be told it was his fault he was late, the evening before like usual he'd drank himself to the point where he blacked out on the couch. Dead to the world and sounds his phone were making until a nasty nightmare involving a truck flipping his car off the road woke him up in a cold sweat, his big dog Sumo curled next to him trying to ease his anxiety.

The address he'd been sent was near the 8 Mile which more than likely meant it wasn't a safe neighborhood to begin with, sure enough when he pulled up to park he wasn't disappointed. The house being investigated looked like the mother of all slums itself, the houses on the road paled in its comparison of broken and taped up shutters, a visible hole in the roof and nameless other broken shit on the outside.

Hank walked through the hologram police tape, ignoring the frown one of his fellow officers gave him in favor of talking to his superior. Fowler himself was there standing on the rickety porch and giving orders before noticing Hank. "Bout time you woke your ass up, this is your case Hank."

Not that he would admit it but that was fair, everyone had been drowning in cases at the precinct lately. For some reason around Summer time and also October crime rates rose up exponentially and Fowler had been giving him a break not too long ago when he'd had a slight mental breakdown. Hank still wanted to complain about it, "Yeah I fucking figured, I'm here now so fill me in."

Supposed drug deal gone wrong; the home owner's body bloody and spilled out on the living room floor, the house raided with small traces of red ice scattered about, a dead dog in the back yard, and a beyond broken android in the hallway with a hammer still shoved into it's head. "What a shit show..." Hank groaned listening to the smaller details as he let his eyes wander.

Off to the side of the porch stood a kid, or looked like a kid but it must be an android. By human standards the young boy looked around ten years old and had no LED, one of the few things Hank did know about androids were the children models had removeable ones for realism. He stood straight and stiff and showed no emotion on his face but had a blanket draped around his shoulders and wore normal kids pjs that were blue with black fuzzy inlines.

Great. Hank hated androids and he wasn't fond of children anymore either, ever since his son passing he couldn't stand to look at either the way he had before the incident. It made his stomach turn and feel sick.

"So we don't know much else than that, none of the forensics team found any DNA or evidence to who the murderer was and our only witness....isn't very talkitive." Fowler stated and turned his head to look over at the boy who still had bed time messy hair.

"Can't you just order it to tell you or something like that? I thought androids had to follow orders.." Hank said with disdain not even looking over at the small android. Fowler hesitated, eyes studying the boy before turning fully back to Hank.

"I guess he does look robotic doesn't he?"

Wait, had he heard that correctly? "So you're telling me that isn't an android? Shit, that's intense shock then if I've ever seen it." Not to mention they'd just been talking about murder in front of the child who had probably witnessed it all like he was a machine that couldn't feel things.

"Fuck..why me?" he hissed under his breath, he hadn't been aware that there were any survivors other than the perpitrator. Not only did looking at the kid make his stomach reel but now Hank had the job of trying to get information out of him _and_ putting him into the system for an orphanage and foster care.

"I've been here for four hours already, I'm going home to my bed and my wife now." Fowler interjected on Hank's thoughts. "I'm leaving the rest to you." then took a step off of the creaking porch.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do with him?" he grabbed Fowler's arm before he made his get away only to have it yanked from his grip. "Whatever you need to in order to get through this investigation. He hasn't moved since I got here so don't worry about him running away or anything."

By the tone Hank knew he wasn't getting anymore help from the man and ran a hand through his thick and slightly greasy hair. "Fuck." he swore again.

Inside looked worse than he would have imagined, everything was broken or ripped, some were both, like the murderer had been looking for other drug hiding places or money. There was the inactive and broken AP700, female appearance model, in the hallway covered in blue-blood. The poor pomeranian outside was dead, Hank didn't care for small dogs but that didn't mean he approved of what had been done, he didn't even have the guts to look it over fully to see if it had died quickly or not. What kind of monster could murder a small dog that had been locked away in the backyard and no threat to them?

Last he looked at was the man, mid-thirties with brown messy hair, Hank looked at the paperwork he had been given to see his first name was Eric. He was also quite obviously the boy-Connor's father and there was no mother on record nor any other relatives listed. Great. That was just fucking great.

He had all of the evidence left behind and everyone else was already packing up to leave which meant his only task left, was to deal with Connor. It was far too late to contact any homes or look for obscure relatives but in a last ditch effort at the door Hank asked a few of the staff leaving. "None of you want to take the kid home for the night do ya? I'd owe you."

They all snorted, "No way Hank, your case, your problem." and ditched him. He sighed, it was what he'd expected but not what he'd hoped for. The night air was cool but not freezing as he walked over to the boy, still standing in mostly the same fashion he had been before but looking a little more haggard and tired now.

Floor boards beneath his feet creaked with each step as Hank knelt on one knee before the boy. Hopefully he could remember how to do this and not go full adult mode on the frightened child. "Hey kid, I'm Lt Hank Anderson and I'm in charge of taking care of you right now. You can crash at my place and tomorrow we'll figure everything out together, sound good?"

Dark brown eyes watched him intently and rarely blinking, still so much like an android that Hank could swear Fowler was lying when he said Connor wasn't one. "Going to take the silence as a yes, let's go." he stood and took a few steps towards his car before stopping to look back, thankfully Connor had followed behind and stopped when Hank had. At least he wasn't going to make Hank pick him up and drag him all the way to the car.

Opening the door for the kid Connor obediently crawled in and strapped the seatbelt across himself before just looking forward into the seat in front of him. It clicked in Hank's head once more, human right Connor was a human not an android, he needed things. "I'll uh be right back, two minutes." then locked Connor in the car and retreated into the house.

Stepping over the android in the hallway Hank searched until he found Connor's room, small but suitable and arguably the nicest and least fallen apart room of the house. There were few toys but all of them neatly stack into a toy chest, no clutter left around the room and only a single child's drawing hung on the wall with a stray piece of tape. A crayon picture of Connor and the household android playing outside in the backyard with the dog.

Rummaging through the kids dresser drawers he grabbed a few sets of clothes and tossed them into a box he'd brought up from downstairs, also tossing in the crayon drawing and pillow from Connor's bed. He settled the box into the back seat next to Connor before driving them both off towards his home.

Hank couldn't stop himself from glancing in his mirror back at the kid on occasion, each time his stomach clenched painfully doing so. This also meant he couldn't drink himself back to sleep tonight...And where was he supposed to house the kid? He hadn't been able to touch the door knob on Cole's old room yet so that was out of the question.

Walking in the door at home Sumo perked his head up and rushed Hank, his tail wagging hard and panting breathes loud and heavy. He patted Sumo's head, "Good boy." then stepped further in. That was when he saw Connor's eyes light up, locked on Sumo and he walked forward in front of the door but didn't reach to pet him.

Hank wasn't worried, Sumo might be a big Saint Bernard but his heart was sweet and fully of gummy bears. So as expected the dog nosed Connor, sniffing him over but his tail never stopping as he interviewed the new friend Hank brought home. Connor lifted a hand for the dog to smell but instead dog a handful of dog slobber and _almost_ looked pleased about it before he started petting Sumo, rubbing his ears and scratching under his chin.

He knew dogs weren't stupid but for a split second Hank thought that Sumo might have seen Connor as Cole, mostly because in that brief moment that's all Hank had seen. His son coming home from school to a happy dog ready to drool on him and cover his clothes with long hairs.

With a sharp whistle both heads perked up and stood to attention though he'd only meant to get Sumo's attention so that Connor would come further into the house. "You should only be here for a night so I'll set you up on the couch." Hank explained as he pulled out some old but comfortable blankets and propped up Connor's pillow to make it more cozy. "If it helps you sleep you can watch tv, I'm going straight back to bed but if you need anything that's my room."

Walking over Connor started to get into the covers and nodded. Hank knew he should probably be warmer, probably try to comfort the kid who had just lost his home and family but he honestly had no idea what to say to the child. He wasn't even through his own personal shit yet he was supposed to watch over a broken kid for the night? Nah it would be fine for just one night and in the morning he could pawn Connor off on some therapist to evaluate him.

Whistling again he called, "Sumo! Come to bed." but the dog gave him a dopy look and didn't budge from where he stood by the couch. "Traitor.." the man muttered and retreated into his room for the night.

His alarm blared him awake promptly at 6:30am and for once he complied like a normal human being, waking up to shower and get dressed before heading into the kitchen. Hank stopped dead in his tracks with what he saw, "What he hell are you two doing!?"

Connor was sitting with Sumo in the kitchen and had found the big bag of dog food at some point, dragged it out and filled up the dogs bowl. That wasn't the shocking part, that was not only was Sumo eating his way overfilled dish but Connor was blatantly eating handfuls of the dog food himself only frozen now that he'd been caught.

Sumo's tail banged loudly on the ground as it wagged, "Yeah I'm sure you're happy with all the extra food he gave you..." Hank grumbled under his breath and stepped over with heavy strides, reaching down to pull Connor to his feet by his wrist without harm. "Why the hell are you eating dog food?"

Where his fingers were pressed to the boy's wrist Hank could feel his heartbeat growing faster by the moment even if Connor's face didn't show anything more than a light surprise. "Look kid I'm not....I'm not _mad_." with regret in his voice Hank moved down to Connor's eye level and let go of his wrist. "If you were hungry you should have told me, I'll make you some people food. Do you like-" he had to paused to think what he all had in the house other than alcohol and leftover fast food, "-eggs?"

In a resigned voice Hank tried not to sigh for what felt like the millionth time towards this kid, "Connor, you have to give me something here. I can't make you food if I don't know what you like."

Standing up Hank turned his back to the kid to put the dog food back in it's closet when he heard it, a very small voice. "Eggs." So he turned, "What was that kid?"

Unsure of himself Connor repeated, "Eggs...eggs are good?" It was hard not to smile just a little at the progress so Hank didn't fight the small one that fought onto his face. "Eggs it is then."

Connor ended up eating four eggs scrambled style and drank two big glasses of water before he finally was full, letting Sumo lick his hands free of any lingering tastes afterwards. "Go change into some of your extra clothes and then we'll get out of here." Obediently the boy did so, changing in the bathroom and heading out straight back to the dog he'd been clinging to ever since arriving.

It made it almost all the more heartbreaking at the door when Connor had this sad look in his eyes at leaving the pupper behind, "I'd bring him to the station for you if he was allowed." Hank said without thinking, Connor looked at him with something akin to trust just for that.

At said station Hank headed over to his desk and patted the chair, "Alright kid you wait here I've got to go talk to the boss quick, be right back." and stepped away into Fowler's office. Before he could complain the man was already ahead of him.

"Yes I know Hank. I've already got the child psychiatrist on her way over but for now the kid is stuck in our custody. He's our only eye witness to the murder and that means he's essential and in danger being anywhere but with an officer. I've been asking around to see if anyone else is willing to hold onto him until we catch the murderer."

Nodding Hank crossed his arms, "Good because you know I can't deal with this shit for long. He's been no trouble but shit Jeffrey a kid, with me? I'm the worst choice possible and I can already tell he's as screwed up mentally as I am."

Shaking his head Fowler said, "You are not the worst choice Han-"

"I woke up to him eating dog food with my dog this morning!" the man yelled but only made his superior start to laugh. "Are you serious, he was eating dog food?" Each of them knew the sad implecations of what that meant but in the moment they took it at face value for the humor of it.

To his luck after leaving Fowler's office the therapist was already there and shook his head, "My name is Dr. Atwell, I'll take Connor somewhere more private for about...hm an hour or so and then bring him back out here for you." Then she disappeared after showing her credentials with the boy in tow.

While they were gone Hank tried to work, he really did try to look over all of the evidence and put pieces together. His eyes kept looking at the picture of Cole he had face down on his desk, peaking it up so that he could see the boy's face Hank felt a clench of emotions burst through his chest and he shoved it down quickly again. "One day with that kid and I'm starting to get all emotional..." Normally Hank tried to be as numb as possible whether it was through work, tv, food, drinking, or a combination.

The less he felt the better.

After an hour and a half, which felt like five, Dr. Atwell walked over first. "Lt. Anderson, I've finished talking with Connor. He's healing from the shock quite well actually it's a blessing so as long as he's well taken care of that doesn't worry me. What _does_ worry me are the conditions he was living in before and how they've affected his mental state."

Shifting his stance Hank listened intently, "I thought so, no kid grows up normal in a drug house."

"He's definitely malnourished so watch his eating habbits, he also refused to speak to me but I convinced him to write short things on a piece of paper for a while. The lack of talking I have a feeling is an after effect of the shock, I have a good feeling once he's more comfortable he's going to start talking more. I would very much like to see him regularly to keep up with his healing process if that's alright Lt. Anderson?"

"Uh yeah of course, I don't want to stand in the way of the kid getting better." Hank said honestly and stood from his desk, happy to be looking away from those damn screens. "Where is the kid?"

"He's using the restroom, he'll meet us here when he's done. So for starters, I know this is probably difficult with everything going on here but the best thing for Connor is to keep him in the most stable environment you can provide. I don't mean that as in someone who will keep him the longest, I just mean somewhere he's comfortable." she suggested. The woman seemed ernest in her want to help Connor but there was only so much she could do in a single session.

"I'll make sure he gets another session with you soon." Seeing Connor heading their way the good Doctor said her good byes to them both, ruffling Connor's hair affectionately before leaving. "She seemed nice." he tried to ease the stiff air around the boy.

"Yes." he got an answer as small as it was then started running a hand through his hair to restyle it perfectly like it had been before other than a single little lock of brown hair that refused to stay in place and hung over the boy's forehead.

It was easier to concentrate on work when Hank could see his little responsibility sitting in the connected desk across from his, sitting in the spinny chair and behaving. Just sitting there, not playing in the chair or fidgeting with anything, Connor was trying to look proper but Hank could feel the boredom waves coming off of him.

So after a measely thirty minutes of working on his backed up paperwork Hank pushed himself up from his desk, Connor's eyes followed him diligently as he walked around. "Don't you know how to be a kid?" it was meant to be teasing but either way Connor was his usual silence self. "Look, it's fun-" Slowly Hank spun Connor in the chair once around and caught it to a stop again.

"No? Okay how about...ummm...the computer. Kids like computers." Entering his password the man went into the games that were left programmed into the computers, solitaire, mine sweeper, and a few others from back in the day along with newer games that Hank had never tried before. "Go ahead kid, it's all yours." then gave Connor space and went back to his desk to work.

Without looking up Hank could hear the faint clicking meaning Connor was actually playing, good, that kid needed to learn to loosen up.

At some point his stomach growled loudly, peeking at the clock it read 12:45, time for lunch. "Hey kid what do you want to eat for lunch, my treat." Walking out to the car Hank could hear the small footsteps trailing him closely. "I thought we had a talk about this, I can't feed you if you don't talk to me."

"Burger." Opening the back seat door for Connor Hank chuffed, "Burger huh? I can manage that." That answer was the most kid-like response Hank had gotten from the boy so he took him to where most kids enjoyed, McDonald's. What kid didn't like Mccy-D's?

Deciphering what sort of burger Connor liked was the newest puzzle, inside the restaurant he'd sat the kid down and gone through the list of condements one by one as Connor nodded or shook his head whether he wanted them or not. "So, pickles, cheese, ketchup and onions, I got it. Stay here."

Watching the kid eat wasn't much different than that morning, he ate his food too quickly like he wasn't going to be eating anything else anytime soon. "Woh slow down there boy, you're going to choke on it like that!" Slowing down Connor nodded with a mouthful of burger and swallowed. "Sorry, um...hungry."

"I know you are, eat up but do it slower I can always get more if you're not full." He wasn't going to let Connor over eat but the boy was so scrawny as it was that an extra burger wasn't going to hurt him, neither was being a little spoiled for a day or two.

Back at the office Hank only got another twenty minutes of papers filed away before Fowler walked over with Gavin Reed, a younger dective who usually had his head up his own ass. "Gavin's agreed to watch the kid for a few days Hank, you're off the hook."

Mixed feelings tugged at the old man's heart, Gavin wasn't a piece of shit and he wasn't going to abuse the kid but he had no child experience and franky Hank didn't trust him to watch out for the boy. On the other hand did Hank trust himself to do all of that? Sure he knew how to take care of a kid about Connor's age and he was feeling alright mentally right now but what if a dip hit him and he needed a drink, needed to get out of the house or seeing how much Connor reminded him of Cole that he just freaked out?

"...Right. Alright then Reed, this is Connor-er hey Connor come over here." he waved with a finger and stood up himself from his desk, Connor sneaking around to be by his side. "Gavin here is gonna house you now."

"Hey kiddo!" Gavin leaned over and stuck his hand out for Connor to shake, "Let's ditch this old geezer, I've got video games and ice cream at my place." For a kid that should be enticing and Hank hadn't been overly friendly so he didn't expect to be chosen over video games and ice cream.

Connor refused to move from his side and didn't shake Gavin's hand, he pressed his lips into a tight line. "Hey don't look so sad kiddo, my house is cool I promise!" the detective tried again with all his might.

Shaking his head Connor took a light handful of Hank's overcoat into his hand, "Sumo."

With an agrivated noise Hank ran a hand over his face, "Great, he's attached to my dog...Connor trust me it's going to be way more fun over at Reed's place than mine." He hadn't even cleaned up the beer bottles that scattered his counters.

"No it won't." came a small bout of defiance. Kneeling down Hank touched both of Connor's shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "You can't stay at my place anymore, you're going to be happier over at Reed's trust me."

The boy avoided eye contact but once in a while his brown eyes would lock onto Hank's for only a split millisecond, they were growing glossy but no tears were threatening to spill over. "Okay." he gave in.

"Good. He's all yours Reed." The detective looked unsure then, "I dunno he seems pretty adaman-"

"Do your fucking job Reed! I can't handle a kid so do it!"

Hank could feel Connor's eyes on him throughout the rest of the day until he and Gavin left, fuck he felt guilty. The guilt was strong enough to replace the sickening feeling that came along with looking at Connor, and he didn't know which feeling he preferred they were both terrible. He really needed a drink, no more like a lot of drinks.

The man knocked back five beers later that evening after feeding Sumo, playing a bit of ball with him and watching an old rerun baseball game, then proceeded to pass out on the couch. For the second night in a row Hank woke up to his phone going off loudly, this time with a series of texts vibrating loudly on the coffee table. Scattered he sat up quick with heavy breathes and snagged his phone, groaning when the bright screen beamed him in the eyes.

"Again...it's fucking 3am!" but it wasn't a crime scene this time. It was Gavin, most everyone at the office had each other's numbers just in case of emergencies, he was having some issue with the kid and had no idea what to do. "Are you serious?" he grumbled at his phone before typing back that he'd be on his way in a moment.

Gavin's place wasn't too far off but Hank still sped there and screeched to a hault before stomping up to the door and banging loudly. It came swinging open with a haste, detective Reed looked tired and exhausted moreso than Hank had ever seen him at a crime scene. Kids could do that to you.

"Thank God you're here..." the man ran a hand over his face disheveled and let Hank in. "Everything was _fine_ I swear, we both went to bed but I woke up and went to get a drink of water and he wasn't sleeping on the futon. So I looked around for him and found him in here-" he lead Hank to the kitchen and gestured to one of the bottom kitchen cabinets that was open, Connor curled up fitting just perfectly inside with his eyes clenched and knees hugged to his chest.

"Just tell him to get out of there, why am I here for this shit Reed?"

"He won't come out. Won't talk to me and when I try to pull him out he has a fit but I can't just leave him in there all night!" the man was pretty much pulling his hairs out with stress, he must be at the end of his rope if he'd contacted Hank of all people.

Crouching down Hank's back cracked and he hissed, "Shit! I'm too old for this crap. Connor, come on get out of there." he ordered. Connor shook his head. "Then we do this the hard way, watch your head kid."

Physically he pulled Connor out and he was fought tooth and nail every inch of the way until he was standing and holding the boy in front of him under the armpits as his little feet dangled and kicked with spirit. "Don't you dare kick me boy." with his hard tone the feet slowed and stopped moving in threatening motions.

Connor looked awful, not that Gavin had done anything to him, but because he looked exhausted. Tear trails were evident on his cheeks from a little private tantrum he'd had by himself in the cupboard when he couldn't sleep. Just one tired boy trying to figure out a way to feel safe so he could sleep.

It was heartbreaking seeing that, Cole had always slept so hard through the night because he always made the most of his days playing and getting into trouble. Against better judgment Hank pulled Connor close to hug up to his chest and shoulder for easier carrying, "I'll take him for the night, pretty sure I've got a sure fire way to make him sleep."

Gavin yawned but nodded, "Yeah uh, sounds good...I guess I owe ya one Hank." They were both way too tired to make any quips at each other like they did in the office or get angry about the situation. He carried Connor to and from the car and then over to his couch once they'd arrived back at his home, grabbing him a blanket and pillow to curl up with.

Whistling Hank patted the end of the couch, loud paws could be heard against the flooring as Sumo hopped himself up and tripped messily onto the couch and half into Connor's lap before licking the boy's cheeks. "Sumo won't let anything get to you while you sleep, think you can get some rest with him here?"

Moving away his sleeve was caught by a small hand, Connor was avoiding his eye contact again and muttered, "I'm...I'm really sorry Lt."

"Don't be, I get grumpy when I can't sleep too. Now get some rest." patting a hand perhaps too roughly over Connor's already messy brown hair he headed off to bed dogless. Worth it in the end when Hank woke up and found the two completely cuddled together on the couch snoozing away that next morning.

Looking at the curled bundle of boy and dog fur Hank smiled lightly and it hit him, that sick feeling wasn't clenching in his gut this morning. In fact he felt rather calm, the urge to self-destruct himself still in the back of his mind, but not as prominent as it was most days.

Memory of carrying Connor to the car the previous night wormed it's way into the man's mind, the familiar feeling of carrying someone small in your arms when they were exhausted and ready to sleep. It was a comforting weight, it felt safe for Hank as well as Connor and the act had rumbled something up in his old heart.

Leaning over the couch he shook Connor's shoulder and in a soft voice he muttered, "Hey, wake up so I can feed you." With a light groan the boy pushed himself to sit up, eyes still closed but starting to peek open. "Hungry..."

"Figured you were." Kids Connor's age were always hungry. Hank touched a hand to the boy's messy mop of hair and grimaced, "You know how to use a shower don't you? Go take one your hair is greasy as hell."

"Okay.." Forcing his eyes open Connor glanced at Sumo before getting up and pitter pattering over to the bathroom, Hank heard the shower start running soon after. Still without a lot of food Hank had limited options for breakfast but decided on another side of scrambled eggs with a main courage of a grilled cheese sandwich. As expected, Connor ate every bite.

It had been a little over a week since Hank made the hard decision to just let Connor stay at his place and so far he was only half regretting it. The sickened feeling has lessened substancially but was always there like a small reminder that he shouldn't be feeling happy.

Which was the problem, Hank had been catching himself feeling happy and during the oddest of times. Making little meals, watching Connor play with Sumo in the back yard, and the feeling flourished whenever he managed to get the boy to speak a few words to him which was happening more and more as the days passed by.

Their case had absolutely no leads, whoever had left Connor without his family hadn't left any personal marks and that Hank was sure about. He had looked over the crime scene and evidence so many times he could picture everything in his head like a hologram now.

His best lead was Connor and getting him relaxed and open enough to ask questions, his therapist Dr. Atwell had suggested giving him time but Hank was anxious. The man wanted nothing more than to put that scumbag behind bars, he would feel better and surely Connor would sleep better at night knowing the bastard was locked away.

In the small span of a week they'd planned out a very easy routine for them both. Morning would happen, sometimes a little later than other days but no one at the office ever expected him on time, Hank would wake up every morning to find Connor and Sumo sleeping together in one place or another. Most of the time it was on the couch but once he'd found the two under the kitchen table and once in the middle of the floor in a little blanket nest.

Breakfast, Hank had been getting better at that and meals in general stocking the house with more than bread and eggs. He didn't have to help the kid do anything, he always washed up and got dressed on his own, hell Connor even styled his hair for himself.

Most at the office had grown fond of Connor since he had to come with Hank to work for safety reasons despite him barely speaking a word to others. Even Gavin, the office asshole, made stops at what was known at Connor's desk to bug the kid for a few minutes. Everyone seemed fascinated by the quiet boy, he was quite the puzzle solver and it had become a new mission to try and stump him. Rubix cubes and hand held puzzles usually found their way into Connor's hands and promptly would be beaten or taken apart, sometimes even put back together.

There was a calm in Hank's mind he hadn't felt in a very long time, like a boat that still made him feel sea sick but was no longer in danger of tipping over because of a hurricane.

Typing away at his keyboard Hank was fully zoned out after taking his lunch break with Connor not too long ago, so it was a surprise when his chair dipped just barely with the small hands pulling on the arm. "Hank. Can I go trick-or-treating?"

Connor hadn't asked for anything before, and the orange and black spooky but gaudy decor around the office hadn't gone unnoticed in his eyes. "You want to go get a bunch of candy don't you?" Hank chuffed, "Okay. I'm sure you want a costume, what are you thinking?"

The kid's eyes lit up with excitement when Hank agreed so fast. "An android. Um, please?"

Interesting choice, Hank didn't approve as androids still weren't exactly positive in his mindset but just a costume was harmless. How could he say no to such an excited expression? It wasn't uncommon, when Hank used to hand out candy or go trick-or-treating with Cole he'd seen kids in android costumes but with how Connor acted he might get actually confused with one of the machines.

"I think I can handle that, I'll make it happen kid." Connor smiled and his eyes fluttered a few times like he couldn't believe what he was hearing still, "Thank you Hank." A warm feeling spread through Hank's chest as Connor retreated to his side of the desk to mess with a puzzle but the feeling didn't come by itself. Shooting up from his desk he all but ran to the bathroom and locked himself into a stall before spilling the contents of his stomach into the toilet.

Cold yet hot sweat beaded down his forehead and neck as he heaved for a long while, his stomach settling after a long ten minutes kneeling on the ground. "Shit fuck." Hank had heard somewhere that swearing when you were in pain lessoned it and to some degree it was satisfying but didn't stop the couple extra minutes of heaving.

Washing his hands, face and mouth several times the man left the bathroom but screeched to a halt, Connor was standing up against the wall outside of the bathroom and wringing his hands together nervously waiting. "Connor, you gotta go to the bathroom or something?"

"No, you looked sick." the kid was worried about him, that was sort of cute but less so only because he'd triggered the sick feeling in Hank's stomach. "I'm fine just uh, really had to take a leak."

That evening Hank sat watching tv on the couch while Connor sat on the floor playing with Sumo, the kid had little interest in the television but would sometimes sit with Hank to watch something if it caught his interest. Getting so sick earlier reminded Hank that he was supposed to be hating himself and grieving still, Connor wasn't his to watch over forever it was just part of the job. As soon as that job was over he'd go off to a bigger and better place where he'd be the happiest kid on the planet.

Dr. Atwell had told him to look out for signs of becoming comfortable before asking him any serious questions, well he looked very comfortable at the moment. The sooner Hank finished this the better and least painful it would be for the both of them.

Flicking the tv off Hank was quiet for a moment, he wasn't a coward, hardly anything could scare a man who had no value of his own life but this made him stop for a moment to think. Yes, it was for the best. "Connor..." Sitting next to the kid on the ground with his legs crossed he tried to come across soft.

"I think there are some things you and I should talk about if you're feeling up to it."

Connor's shoulders stiffened and he avoided eye contact but he nodded.

"Do you know who the person is that um....the person who-" "Yes." Connor said immediately, "The man who killed my family. We have to go back to the house though."

"Wait what does that mean, why do we have to go back?" Hank asked.

"We have to go back." the kid repeated without anymore information. "Alright..." Hank muttered unsure of this all and rubbed the back of his neck, "Get your shoes on we'll go over."

"Hm." the kid whined softly, "Tomorrow...please?"

"Wouldn't you rather get it over with?" "Mn-mn!" Connor shook his head and pulled one of his knees close to his chest to hold. "Tomorrow is better."

Hank had a bad feeling about giving in this time but did it anyways, he wasn't known for making good decisions anyways. "Fine, first thing tomorrow we're going there instead of to the office."

Laying in bed that night Hank felt restless, tomorrow felt like an oncoming war. Connor clearly didn't want to leave Hank's house and he wasn't stupid, he knew once the case was closed that was exactly what was going to happen. His mind went through every tantrum possible that he might have to deal with tomorrow morning, he could handle it. Right, he could handle it.

Connor woke him up early in the morning, venturing into his room for the first time and taking his hand pushing it to his forehead. "I feel sick today." No lie, Connor's forehead felt like it was burning up, Dad instincts kicked in and Hank was out of bed in a flash and rummaging through cupboards to find any fever medicine he had left. Finding only one bottle of kids medicine that expired in a month almost like fate he walked it over to the couch where Connor was sitting.

He looked perfectly healthy, his face wasn't lacking or overly colored, eyes looked rested and the like. Frowning Hank pressed the back of his hand to Connor's forehead again and this time it felt perfectly fine. "You little sneak..." Best guess was that Connor had cuddled himself up under his blankets and Sumo to make his skin feel hot and rushed to Hank's room pretending to have a fever.

Setting the medicine aside a deep frown spread over Hank's features, Connor shrunk back into the couch cushions looking down at his fidgeting hands. "Connor if there's one thing I really don't appreciate, it's lying. Brush your teeth, get dressed, get your shoes on." he ordered before backing off and watching the young boy rush off to the bathroom with haste.

Connor was actively frowning the entire ride to the house but didn't hesitate to walk right up to it and go inside when Hank unlocked the door. The crime scene had been cleaned up so there was nothing the detective had to worry about Connor seeing that might scar him, Connor was barely looking at a single thing and was intent on whatever his target was.

Straight to the kitchen Connor climbed onto the counter, opened an empty cabinet and pulled out a fake paneling wall on the back. Hidden inside was a little brown booklet that when he got down the boy held out towards Hank. "This is what you're looking for...right?"

Flipping through the pages Hank stood there stunned, this was exactly what the investigation needed. The book held all of Connor's father's drug clients and contact information spelled out blatantly. "Ye...Yeah this is exactly what I needed. Do you know which person was in the house that night?"

"Um...I think it was this one-" he turned to a specific page. "Short, blond, he has big gages in both ears.." That brought a new smile to Hank's face and his features softened. "You really pay attention to details don't you?" Even though Connor usually looked off in his own world half the time.

The kid still looked at him with his own sour expression but couldn't hold the eye contact so he looked down, "You can take me to the orphanage now."

A growl started in the back of Hanks' throat, "Look here-"

"Just take me if you're going to...um, please." rubbing one of his arms anxiously tears budded in the corners of Connor's eyes but didn't spill over. "You got it so...so..."

"Woh hang on." Dropping down to a knee Hank touched a hand to Connor's elbow, catching the boy before he darted to the side, "Wait Connor. Look at-um actually listen to me okay?" Hank corrected knowing the kid had problems with eye contact, he didn't want to force that on him.

"I wanted this yes but _only_ because I want to get this person and put them in jail, they're dangerous- _you're_ in danger while they're out there. This isn't about me not wanting you around." He watched Connor trying to see if all of his words were sinking in.

"You _don't_ want me around though." "I do but-!" Hank cut himself off, he was making this worse. So much worse. He liked Connor, at first being around the boy reminded him so much of Cole it hurt his heart with every glance. As the days passed, besides the looks, Connor stopped reminding of his son since their personalities were vastly different.

Cole had been a creative soul, always coloring and scribbling down drawings whereas Connor liked numbers and puzzles. Cole was a people person, Connor preferred a quiet solitude with just a few people he liked or in the latest case one old man and a dog for company. They were both cute, good kids but so different that it was easier to differentiate them now in his head.

"You can't stay with me Connor, I'm too screwed up, too old. I'm no good at this, you're smart and you should realize that."

A sniffle, and then another before Connor slid down to the ground on his butt and started crying into the shirt sleeves he had balled up against his eyes. The sound was enough to break Hank's guarded heart. "Oh don't cry Con..." the nickname came out of nowhere just hoping any level of affection would silence the soft sobbing.

"I jus-I just don't want to go anywhere new! I like your house!" the kid said through his crying and hiccups, "Sumo's there and you're there an-um and you're both really nice to me!" Any kid could have the same fears, Hank knew he should have seen something like this coming. Sliding to sit next to Connor he rubbed a hand over the young boy's back.

"I miss Emma and Wheatley _so_ much..I even miss my dad."

If Hank recalled correctly the AP700 android's name was Emma and he knew for a fact the poor dog in the back yards name had been Wheatley from part of the team who had buried the dog.

This meltdown had been a storm brewing for days now, as robotic as Connor could seem he still had feelings and could bottle only so much at a time.

Slowly the sobs softened and stopped altogether once Connor got everything out of his system, since he'd used up his own sleeves Hank leaned to wipe any left over tears from the boy's face with his own shirt sleeves. "Feel a little better now?" Connor nodded and promptly apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be a brat."

"Don't worry about it, sometimes people just have to cry or scream things out when they're upset. I've done it."

"What were you so upset about that you had to cry and scream?" Connor asked bluntly.

Hank's throat felt dry with his answer on the tip of his tongue as that sick feeling biled in the back of his mouth. "My son died...couple years ago, he was a little younger than you are now."

"Oh." a form of realization washed over Connor's eyes. "I'm sorry, that sucks."

A long silence paused the air between them until Hank decided to stand up, pocketing the little booklet of information Connor had given him. "We can talk later but for now we should get out of here."

"Okay Hank." the boy reluctantly muttered as he moved to get up but was scooped up by a pair of hands. Hank held him under his legs and partly over one of his shoulders, "Too slow." So Connor just hung onto Hank's shoulder contently and without a fuss.

With the right information in hand and Connor talking more properly Hank was able to track down the bastard responsible for tearing the kid's household apart in only two days. Purposefully shooting the man in a non-vital spot of the leg as a half edged revenge for poor Wheatley the dog.

The detective had taken the last few days full of tracking down the shit bag to think long and hard about what to do with Connor, who had spent the last few nights still on his couch. Yes it would be hard raising a child and doubly hard since Hank wasn't the most well kept together person anymore but...something had been at peace within him over the last week and a half that hadn't been in such a long time.

There had been no thoughts of suicide and keeping his drinking habits down to one or two a night at most had never felt easier, just knowing there was someone that needed him kept the thought of drinking at bay. Having a kid wouldn't be a fix all for his problems but maybe it was the healing point Hank needed and just maybe he was what Connor needed too.

In the end he told Fowler that he was going to take a lease out on the kid, take him for an indefinite test drive to see if things would really work out. What Fowler did or filled out for that he didn't know but the man hadn't argued a word with him, in fact he looked rather pleased.

Last minute as it was Hank took Connor shopping the day before trick-or-treat at a Halloween store. "Go crazy, pick some shit out and try it on." It was the first time he'd seen Connor actually run around with the excitement of a child, the closest he'd ever seen was when the boy played fetch with Sumo in the back yard.

Waiting at the dressing room he hadn't actually seen what Connor took with him into the changing room. He was surprised when the kid came out wearing black slacks, a white button up and a black sports coat with a clip on tie reminiscent of a suit. "Huh, I thought you wanted to be an android not a lawyer." he teased.

Connor only smiled and turned around with a giddy stance, the back of the sports coat revealing the real identity of what the costume was. D.C.P.D. Detroit City Police Department plastered on the back in obviously fake lettering.

"When I grow up I want to work as a detective like you! I want to be your partner on cases!" he declared with starts in his happy brown eyes.

A chuckle wormed its way from Hank's throat, he was flattered. "It suits you kid."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:  
> -I couldn't find a way to write it out exactly but the reason Connor doesn't want to go with Gavin(other than just liking Hank and Sumo a lot) is become build/age/looks Gavin reminds him of his dad.  
> -I used an online calculator to tell me how much Hank would need to drink to be pretty drunk so I tried to be as accurate as possible. (By the calculator Hank would have been at a .10 b.a.c whereas .08 is illegal to drive in the US)
> 
> Next piece of the series will focus on the events of the game.


End file.
